Twitter is really having a moment, isn’t it? Too bad it feels like the verge of implosion, as it has been my favorite social media platform since I joined back in February 2008. Not sure of all the dates, but I think I joined LinkedIn (the first time) just after Twitter, followed by Facebook in December 2008 and Instagram sometime in 2010. I deleted my Facebook account in June 2020, followed by Instagram a few days later. Dropped off LinkedIn for about five years, as it became a huge source of spam and unsolicited sales pitches. I rejoined last year for career reasons, but it seems rather sad that may be the last one standing if I decide to drop Twitter.

Now, I don’t really want to leave Twitter. I likely use the service differently than 99% of the rest of the world, and it has served me well. I’m rarely on the actual twitter.com website, using the awesome Tweetbot client on both macOS and iOS. For reasons I don’t fully understand, using those tools means I never see ads and my timeline is always in chronological order (with only accounts I want to see).

I currently follow about 400 accounts (many of those, it turns out, have been inactive for some time) and I’ve carefully curated what accounts I follow to get useful and timely info in my personal areas of interest (music, sports, food, travel, running, casinos and technology). There are friends and family on there that I know from real life and a bunch of real people that I only know through Twitter. Some of these people I’m connected with on LinkedIn, but I’d miss out on so much if Twitter was out of the picture. Hoping for personal blogs to make a comeback – RSS is solid tech and NetNewsWire is still a great reader on macOS.

Decided to spend some time this week studying what content has been hitting my timeline since Electric Rocket Boy took over. There are a few friends that I follow that use the service *a lot* and I don’t think I fully realized just how much they shape my Twitter experience (hello @rstanzel, @russohockey, @bynkii and @peril_in_pink). I’m closing in on 23,000 lifetime tweets, but Russo is nearing 200,000. I respect how everyone uses the service – you can always unfollow or mute if you don’t like the frequency (or the content). Of course, the new ownership may have other plans. Seriously wondering just how long third party clients like Tweetbot will be allowed access to the system…

So where do I go from here? Just like I did with the other services, I requested a download of my data (which you can do on this page). The Twitter archive you get is actually pretty nice – it creates a local web page you can open with your browser and view all of your tweets, likes, replies, direct messages and media files. I would like to find a way to take this archive, strip out the private stuff and just have a page with all the tweets (like I did for my old Instagram pics here).

I’ll likely stay on the service as long as Tweetbot works the way I’m used to, my favorite people continue to post and it remains free to use. If any of those things change (or the “Chief Twit” makes me as mad as the “Meta” joker did), I will deactivate & delete the @kingsbury account, pour one out for the bird and get to work on improving this little corner of the internet…

7 Minute Miles Twitter Hall of Fame

@4waytest
@acidprime
@acpage_77
@adenab
@alanbergo
@amanjo
@andrewrcraven
@arekdreyer
@badbanana
@bgervais
@bigdad3233
@bigriverpizza
@billamend
@bloomcounty
@blushnbashfuls
@bradleysklein
@brandon_seekins
@briankrebs
@brianstucki
@bryanhansel
@bryanrossi1
@bynkii
@cedge318
@charley_walters
@chuckgoolsbee
@cmkingsbury
@cookcovisitors
@ct_turf
@dailyangst
@danielle_ottman
@danothebeach
@dasharez0ne
@davidkingsbury
@davidshamaminn
@deardara
@derushaeats
@drunkhunk
@dskoglund_mn
@erheil
@ericsieger
@fairmontsprings
@fallon
@firstavenue
@fortunebay
@grandmasmara
@grayter1
@gregneagle
@gregswan
@grlitman
@gruber
@hammen
@harvdog1
@hazeltine
@hewittstrib
@hsra_mn
@jakeaune
@jefflagrua
@jeffshelman
@jemsekgolf
@jessflem
@joebissen
@johntdrumjr
@jonbream
@kerifromkansas
@kevinleecy
@kilbo
@lamppag
@letsreallylive
@linebackrbarbie
@lovesbassets
@lutsen_tofte
@lutsenmountains
@macshome
@mauioceancenter
@mfpip
@michaelguille
@minikahdaturf
@mlindstrom
@mnstatefair
@mnzoo
@muccisitalian
@munsongs
@myprontopup
@mysticlake
@niess_lisa
@nihilist_arbys
@nkrnz
@nwstwincities
@officialwilbury
@palacestpaul
@pashcam
@patricktalty
@paul_brinkman
@paulkaps
@peril_in_pink
@peterdog5
@pmdigolf
@pooserville
@richwang3
@ricknelsonmn
@riverviewtheatr
@robertcrayband
@rossraihala
@rskohner
@rstanzel
@russohockey
@ryanmathre
@schweitzerid
@saintdinette
@samcrut
@sarahmariette
@schoun
@schutz
@skatergirl916
@stephmarch
@stpaulsaints
@summerofjumbo
@susanruns
@tapinbirdie
@tbridge777
@tbtduluth
@tcmarathon
@tdelibassis
@techgrltweeter
@tenaciousd
@thecedar
@thecharlieparr
@thefitztheater
@themasters
@tjdsbtom
@tldresen
@tniver
@tompetty
@tonyminnieapple
@turfclubmn
@twindependent
@twinsprez
@twodots
@usbankstadium
@wtipradio

Thanks for all the awesome micro-content and socializing 💜